Center for Academic Integrity hosts international conference in St. Louis

Published: October 8, 2009

CLEMSON — America’s “cheating culture” and what to do about it will be the focus of discussion in St. Louis when experts gather for the annual international conference of the Clemson University-based Center for Academic Integrity. 

The three-day conference begins Friday, Oct. 16, at Washington University in St. Louis.

Keynote speakers for the event include David Callahan, author of “The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead” and five other books about business, history and public policy. In 1999 Callahan co-founded Demos in New York City, a public-policy think tank. Callahan will speak at the Friday banquet.

Saturday’s keynote address comes from William Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force who served as provost and dean at the Defense Language Institute and as deputy of international history at the Air Force Academy. Astore, who now teaches history at Pennsylvania College of Technology, believes higher education should be less about delivering a commodity and more about mentoring students toward the “indispensible attribute of fully engaged citizens.”

“This past year has taught us some very hard lessons about the consequences of acting without integrity,” said Teddi Fishman, director of the Center for Academic Integrity. “With the damage that has been done to our financial institutions and our economy, people are starting to pay more attention about the role that ethics play in society. Educators have a unique opportunity to help instill a sense of integrity in young people before they begin their professional lives. That’s what this conference is all about.”

Other speakers include Dan Wueste, director of the Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University, headquarters to the Center for Academic Integrity. For more on the conference, visit http://www.academicintegrity.org/conferences/2009_Conference/index.php.

The Center for Academic Integrity, a consortium of more than 1,100 members, is the premier organization dedicated to academic integrity. The core membership is made up of faculty, students and administrators in higher education and secondary education.

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